Sony rolls out 30-day online DRM check-in for PlayStation digital games — players could temporarily lose access if they don't keep their consoles online

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Silent policy change infuriates PlayStation owners

PlayStation 5 Pro
(Image credit: Sony)

A few days ago, reports of a new DRM policy surrounding PS4 and PS5 consoles began popping up. Many users are seeing a new 30-day online check-in requirement for some games. In the info page of an affected game, you'd see a new validity period and a "remaining time" deadline. At first, this seemed like a software bug, but now PlayStation Support has confirmed its authenticity to multiple users. PlayStation owners are furious about the change.

Affected customers report that setting your PS4 or PS5 as the primary console doesn't alleviate this check-in policy either. No matter what, any game you download from now on will feature this new requirement, effectively eliminating the concept of offline play for even single-player titles.

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Unfortunately, this is a stark reminder of modern-day ownership terms, where you don't truly own a piece of software you buy — rather, you're just licensed to use it. Such access is maintained via DRM that pings to the distributor's servers to ensure developer-side control. This means if the distributor/dev suddenly decides it doesn't want to support the software anymore, you're out of luck even though you did things the legit way.

The community reaction to this apparent change has been visceral. Many point out how Sony has forgotten where it came from, given how it mocked Microsoft for using a similar policy back in the Xbox One days. You might remember the iconic E3 2013 presentation before the PS4's launch where the company proudly said its console "won't require you to check-in online." At the time, that approach was universally applauded, which only makes the current situation more ironic.

While PlayStation Support has confirmed this new DRM policy via its chatbots, Sony hasn't officially come out with a statement so far. Some users argued that only games acquired via PlayStation Plus are subject to this DRM, while others pointed out how a dead CMOS battery can also trigger the license expiration. We can't be sure without official communication from Sony, but it's obvious that rolling this change out silently and without warning is the worst possible approach.

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Hassam Nasir
Hassam Nasir
Contributing Writer

Hassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When he’s not working, you’ll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun.

14 Comments Comment from the forums
  • thisisaname
    So very bad made worse by not communicating with their customers.
    Will the check-in also require you are running the latest firmware?
    Reply
  • chaz_music
    There is nothing that Sony can do that affects me: I have not purchased anything from them since the CD rootkit fiasco in 2005 when I had to dump several of their BMG CDs. It literally loaded a rootkit onto my XP based PC.

    I buy a ton of electronics every year. No telling how many consumer like me opted to not buy any more Sony products. When my old old Sony monitor finally died a few years ago, that was the last Sony item in the house.
    Reply
  • call101010
    chaz_music said:
    There is nothing that Sony can do that affects me: I have not purchased anything from them since the CD rootkit fiasco in 2005 when I had to dump several of their BMG CDs. It literally loaded a rootkit onto my XP based PC.

    I buy a ton of electronics every year. No telling how many consumer like me opted to not buy any more Sony products. When my old old Sony monitor finally died a few years ago, that was the last Sony item in the house.
    What Sony Products ? Sony died long time ago for me ... Their TVs suck , their mobile phone a disaster , their Audio products lower level , it is not like old walkman and trinitron monitors days anymore ..
    Reply
  • txfeinbergs
    call101010 said:
    What Sony Products ? Sony died long time ago for me ... Their TVs suck , their mobile phone a disaster , their Audio products lower level , it is not like old walkman and trinitron monitors days anymore ..
    You lost me at "their TVs suck". They have some of the highest rated TVs around. I don't own any as I stick with LG OLEDs, but that is clearly a BS statement.
    Reply
  • Rand max
    I bet this doesn't apply to hacked consoles. What do they go for, these days?
    Reply
  • gggplaya
    On the surface, this policy doesn't matter much. 99% of PS5 owners have their consoles connected to their wifi.

    The problem is years down the road when everyone is play PS8 and you want to play an old PS5 game you bought. The servers won't be supported anymore and all your digital games are worthless.
    Reply
  • atomicWAR
    txfeinbergs said:
    You lost me at "their TVs suck". They have some of the highest rated TVs around. I don't own any as I stick with LG OLEDs, but that is clearly a BS statement.

    Except they sold 51% of their TV division to TCL and they no longer make their own TVs directly. That is now done by Bravia Inc the joint venture. Sony has been steadily pulling out of their hardware businesses over the last decade or so. This is all very well known at this point and I believe that is where @chaz_music was going with things.

    As for the 30 day check in. MS would be wise to reverse course and go the opposite direction then point that out in a commercial like Sony did to MS over the XB1 drm debacle.
    Reply
  • Chris9465
    Yyyaaaawwwwwnnnn Such a non issue. This might affect 5 or 6 people that own a Playstation in the world. Sony, looked at how many PlayStations are using some form of streaming service then how much piracy is happening.
    99.9999% use a streaming service. So this will only apply to thieves. Stop stealing games.
    Reply
  • ezst036
    Admin said:
    PS4 and PS5 consoles are now apparently subject to a new DRM policy requiring users to check-in online every 30 days to maintain access.
    Gabe Newell says

    O RLY?? Release the GabeCube without so steep a DRM

    https://files.vgtimes.com/si/post_145345_1x1_en.webp?1769083812
    Reply
  • Kindaian
    I had a Sony Vaio laptop ages ago. Brilliant computer. But they killed it themselves.
    Reply